7 Easy to get jobs for immigrants in Australia — Migrant Jobs in AU

Before we start, let me clarify that this is a list of jobs that are easy TO GET but they mostly involve difficult work. I also want to highlight that this is not a list of jobs for migration purposes. Instead, these are jobs that you can easily have once you’re already here. And lastly, though many immigrants in Australia start off with the jobs on this list, it doesn’t mean that these are the only ones that you can secure as a migrant here as there are many variables to be considered.

Food & Hospitality (Restaurants, Cafés, Fast Food/ Takeaway)

Jobs in the food and hospitality industries are probably the easiest jobs to get amongst the ones in this list. Even high school students are able to get them. I’m talking about positions such as being a fast food crew, kitchen hand, dishy (dishwasher), all-rounder, etc. Industry experience and qualifications are usually not required. The work is fast-paced and unfortunately the working conditions aren’t the best.

A lot of new immigrants, most notably international students, fall prey to wage theft/ exploitation. In fact, I have experienced this first hand in some of my previous work when I was employed in a small restaurant and then in a fast food place. Though it is rampant, it’s not always the case so don’t be discouraged but definitely be vigilant. Anyway, there are a lot of vacancies available in this industry. You can even find positions being advertised by simply walking around food courts in shopping centres.

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Aged Care and Disability Support

Based on experience, working in a residential facility is more full on. Some of the tasks involved are assisting the residents with their personal care (showering, oral care, changing of continence aids etc.), meal preparation, manual handling, and more. You have to care for multiple residents and complete tasks within a very limited time. It is physically demanding and if you work in dementia care, it can very well test your mental health too. Personally, it was all too much to handle and doesn’t really pay well enough for what it is.

On the other hand, working in the community is so much easier from what I’ve experienced. The clients aren’t as high needs as the ones in residential care. In my current work as a disability support worker, none of my clients have ever needed my assistance with showering or managing incontinence. Majority of my work is just driving them around to wherever they want to go, accompanying them, giving reminders, and maybe some light housework but barely ever. You would need a driver’s license and be willing to use your own car for work if you do community.

Cleaning

There are different kinds of cleaning jobs. You can be a cleaner at a hotel, school, office, residential houses, or industrial sites. The tasks differ slightly depending on where you work but all would involve cleaning, obviously. Brief descriptions below.

• Hotel– you’ll be cleaning guest rooms
• School–  it’s the classrooms and toilets etc.
• Office– well, the office
• Residential– could be regular day to day cleaning or a bond clean. 
• Industrial– could be in a factory, processing plant, mining site (great pay, I’ve heard) etc.

You can apply directly or through agencies. Prior experience aren’t usually necessary. You’d most likely be required to have a driver’s license, your own car, and an ABN. If you’re applying as a school cleaner, you would also be required to have a Blue card.

Factory Work

There are a number of different industries in which the factory you’d work for might belong to. It could be in food, logistics, automotive, pharmaceutical etc. The nature of your work as well as the requirements of the job may slightly differ depending on which industry the factory is for as well as on which area in the factory you’ll be working at. But most would involve machine operation and a lot of manual handling. Working at a factory is fast paced, exhausting, and requires you to do the same exact stuff over and over all of the time.

As I have mentioned before, the regional area where I currently live is considered to be the beef capital of Australia. So we do have a lot of jobs available in the meat works here. From what I’ve heard from the people that I’ve talked to, it is very hard work and is physically demanding. Their work may involve butchering, cleaning different areas, packing, and more. There are shifts available throughout the day and most don’t require any qualifications or industry experience.

Farm Work

Retail/ Supermarket

Job vacancies in this one isn’t as abundant as the ones previously mentioned but it is still an easy job to get. Personally, though the work still involves manual handling, it isn’t as strenuous as the other ones we’ve discussed. Some vacancies would require previous retail experience. For the bigger supermarkets, you’d usually just apply online through their website but the others would normally have a sign that says ‘apply within’. Also, if you walk around the shopping centres right before the holidays, you would see plenty of stores advertising for seasonal positions (someone to work for them during the busy holiday season).

Food delivery/ Ride Hailing

You get these through ride sharing/ food delivery apps such as Uber, Menulog, Doordash, etc. It’s a good source of extra income but I wouldn’t personally do it full time. I’ve heard some people do though and still earn enough. It’s an easy job where you pick up and drop off people or food. The hours are very flexible since you’re basically self employed. You would need and ABN for this one and you would be using your own car. You get bookings from the app and if you know where to hang around, you’ll get more. 

Conclusion

And there you have it, seven easy to get ‘migrant jobs’ in Australia. As you have probably gathered,  they mostly involve hard work and are usually offered on a casual basis. If you’re one of the many immigrants who work at or are applying for one of the jobs above but used to be ‘someone’ (i.e. lawyer, professor, manager etc.) back in your respective country of origin, don’t be ashamed of your hard work and perseverance. Don’t lose hope. Instead, keep on working towards whatever it is that you’re aiming to achieve. I’m cheering for you!

Disclaimer All content and information in this post is for purposes of sharing my experiences only, does not constitute professional advice and does not establish any kind of professional-client relationship.

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